John H. Culhan
No sturdier or better citizens have ever come to our shores than have those sons of Ireland who have made their homes in this country. Fortunate indeed is the community which receives these people and incorporates them in its body politic, for wherever they are found they are always industrious, upright and willing to do their share toward the advancement of the material and moral welfare of the community in which they reside. In the old country they learned those habits of industry which insure success, and upon their emigration to this country they never fail to bring along these same habits which made them independent in their old home. John H. Culhan, while a native of Ohio, has all of those sterling characteristics which mark his Irish parents. He has made his own way practically since he was ten years of age and is a fine type of the self-made man. He is a man of strict integrity and has built up a reputation for honesty and uprightness during his long residence in Washington C.H.
John H. Culhan, the son of Michael and Jane (Harvey) Culhan, was born in Hillsboro, Highland county, Ohio, December 22, 1836. His parents were natives of Ireland and married in Brooklyn on coming to the United States. Later they settled in Hillsboro, Ohio, where the father died in 1861, being only about thirty-three years of age at the time of his death. Michael Culhan served in the regular army in his native land before coming to America. He and his wife were both devout members of the Catholic church. After his death in 1861, his widow married Michael McMahan, and to her second marriage one son was born, Michael, who is now living in Hillsboro, Ohio. Michael Culhan and wife were the parents of four sons: James, of Bedford, Indiana; John H., with whom this narrative deals; Robert, of Seneca, Illinois, and George, of Russell, Ohio.
John H. Culhan was only five years of age when his father died in 1861, and when about ten years of age he went to live on a farm in Brown county, but returned to Hillsboro three years later, where he attended the public schools for a short time. He then went to live with a man by the name of James Clark at Hillsboro, where he remained until he was nineteen years old, when he went to Cincinnati to learn the carriage and blacksmithing trade, but remained there only a few months. In 1873 he came to Washington C.H., where he has since resided. He followed the blacksmithing trade for a few years and then engaged in the restaurant business, following that occupation until he received his appointment as a postmaster in May, 1907. Upon the expiration of his first term of four years he was reappointed and is still filling this position to the entire satisfaction of the patrons of the postoffice.
Mr. Culhan has been twice married. His first marriage occurred April 18, 1883, to Lucy Long, the daughter of Alexander and Martha (Boher) Long, whose death occurred February 2, 1887, leaving no children. On November 26, 1888, Mr. Culhan married Sallie A. Collins, the daughter of Edward and Mary (Coleman) Collins, and to this second union have been born two children, Jane Prudence and Mary Alice. Jane is a teacher in the public schools of Washington C.H., and Mary is a student in the local high school. Mrs. Culhan was born at Clarksville, Clinton county, Ohio. Her parents were natives of Ireland and early settlers in Clinton county, this state, where they died. Edward Collins and wife were the parents of five children who lived to maturity: Sallie A.; James; Mary, deceased, who was the first wife of Attorney-General T. S. Hogan; Miss Alice Collins, and Thomas, deceased.
Politically, Mr. Culhan is a Republican and has always taken an active interest in the welfare of his party. He served on the board of review of his county for several years. Fraternally, he is a member of the Free and Accepted Masons at Washington, C.H., and holds membership in the Royal Arch chapter. He is a member of the Knights of Pythias, being a charter member of the lodge at Washington, C.H. He is also a member of Washington Lodge No. 129, Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. Mrs. Culhan and the two daughters a re loyal and devout members of the Catholic church.
From History of Fayette County Ohio - Her People, Industries and Institutions by Frank M. Allen (1914, R. F. Bowen & Company, Inc.)